The number of Brazilians wanting to live and work in the United States (US) is constantly growing.
This is what a survey done by AG Immigration points out, with information obtained from the Department of Homeland Security.
The numbers reveal that 23,596 citizens of Brazil received the American permanent residency document – the so-called green card – in 2022: a 28.5% increase over the previous year and the largest volume in the historical series.
With this, Brazil was the ninth country that received the document the most.
The ranking is led by Mexico (138,000), India (125,000), China (68,000), Dominican Republic (39,000), and the Philippines (36,000).
According to the CEO of AG Immigration, Rodrigo Costa, the data reinforce the brain drain movement that had already been observed in Brazil in recent years.
“The three highest annual volumes of green card issuance were recorded precisely from 2019 to here,” he explained.
“And it is not unlikely that a new record will be reached in 2023.”
In the executive’s evaluation, the brain drain phenomenon is explained by two main reasons: the labor shortage in the US, which inflates salaries and stimulates the hiring of immigrants, and the political-economic deterioration in Brazil in the last decade, “which often causes a feeling of hopelessness in the population.”
The highest number of green cards issued to Brazilians was in 2019 (19,800).
NATURALIZATION
The survey also revealed that the amount of Brazilians who obtained American citizenship also hit a record in 2022.
There were 12,983 naturalizations, a slight increase of 5.7% over the 12,448 of 2021 – until then, the historical maximum. Brazil was the 19th country that had the most nationals obtaining US citizenship, behind Mexico (127,000), India (64,000), Colombia (17,000), Iran (14,000), and Bangladesh (13,000), for example.
A foreigner can become a naturalized US citizen after five years with a green card, provided most of that time has been spent on US soil.
“When people receive permanent residency, they must live in the country. Otherwise, the benefit can be revoked,” explains AG Immigration’s CEO.
He also highlights that, although there are difficulties in adapting some Brazilians to American culture, the majority opt to stay in the US, given the better working conditions, income, and security.
“Besides this, with citizenship, Brazilians can still sponsor family members who would not be able to come here just as permanent residents,” says Costa, who has been living in Florida since 2008.
According to another survey, based on official numbers from the American Department of Labor, Brazil ranks seventh among the countries with the most citizens going to work in the US.
In all, 865 Brazilians were hired by American companies last fiscal year.
Leading the ranking were India (22,967), China (4,039), Mexico (1,779), Philippines (1,039), Canada (1,001), and South Korea (945).
On average, the Brazilians hired in the United States received an annual salary of US$72,000 – the equivalent of R$30,000 per month, at the current exchange rate of R$5 for each dollar.
The lowest salaries identified by the survey were for the position of nanny (R$7,314 per month), cleaning assistant (R$7,384), and food preparer (R$7,800).
The highest remuneration was for a cardiologist hired by a medical clinic, with R$208,333 per month.
In general, Brazilians’ highest salaries were for medicine, management, engineering, and economics professionals.
With information from Agência Brasil
More: Brazil news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief · Editorial standards · Report an error